Kind of a Revenge Of The Nerds film gone wrong, the two Killer Nerd films from the early nineties play off as goofy homages to teen comedies and bad slasher films.

The Killer Nerd

Toby Radloff (from the Oscar nominated American Splendor) got his start playing Harold Kunkle, a nerd who is continually harassed by some local hooligans. There's no escape from the ridicule he is subjected to, even at work. When Harold falls in love with one of his co-workers, he decides to spring for a tape that guarantees to teach him how to be cool.

After completing his cool lessons, he works up the courage to head on over to his beloved's house, but when he arrives, he finds her making out with another co-worker. This doesn't sit well with him, so he heads downtown to party with some local hoochies. Things are going ok until the hoochies' friends show up and turn out to be the very same group of nogoodniks that were picking on him in the first part of the film. Harold snaps, and exacts his bloody revenge.

The Bride Of The Killer Nerd

After the horrific events of the first film, Harold Kunkle has relocates to a new city to lay low and start anew. He finds a kindred spirit when he meets a local high school girl who is the subject of ridicule for most of her classmates. When they hook up at church one day, they really hit it off and begin a whirlwind romance.

Things take a turn for the worse though when her classmates set up Kunkle and his new lady-friend. They invite them both to a party only to humiliate her, but Kunkle will have none of that and he and his woman team up to take down the ignorant.

Neither of these films are good movies. They're cheaply made, full of bad dialogue, one-dimensional characters, and poor special effects. Radloff is just bizarre enough in the lead role to pull it off though, and it is his unusual performance that makes this pair worth a watch for those with a taste for b-movies. His performances are so cliché that you can't help but laugh at him, or at his character's predicaments and when he gets his revenge, you really do want him to pull it off.

Aside from Radloff though, these are typical bad horror-comedy hybrids. The gore is minor save for one or two scenes and there isn't much going on in the way of stylish cinematography or fancy lighting techniques. From a visual standpoint, both entries, while reasonably competent, are quite dull.

Video:

Although Lloyd Kaufman once again lauds this as a lovingly remastered DVD, the video isn't anything to write home about. Most of that is probably due to the condition of the source materials used and the low budget conditions under which the film was made, but there is some shimmering and some edge enhancement as well as a noticeable amount edge enhancement throughout the film. It does look better than previous VHS releases ever did though, and it is perfectly watchable even if it doesn't look great.